Comfort
by Slambodog
Summary: This takes place immediately after the end of ESB, literally the second the credits start rolling. The second chapter takes place about an hour later. It is a short vignette that explores the feelings that must be going through Luke and Leia's minds after the trauma they endure at the end of ESB. Light Luke/Leia.
1. Chapter 1

Luke sensed Leia staring at him, and he felt emotions of love and desire and sadness in her aura. She was in danger of entering a dark place. He did not know what he could say to her, what else he could do to comfort her. He was embarking down a new path, one that had no place to give her the support, the love she required. Her heart belonged to Han, and he would not have interfered even if he was able to ignore his oaths. All he could do was hold her more tightly. A small moan escaped her lips.

"Luke, I love you."

Luke could tell that she wasn't saying that she loved her as a friend or a companion. Fearing Han to be dead, she was now turning all of her love for him to Luke. It was misplaced, but he didn't have it in his heart to cause her any more pain. However, none of his trainings from Masters Ben or Yoda had prepared him for this. It was all new and exciting. No one had ever felt this way about him, so why did it have to happen after it was too late. The one thing he did know was that he had to say something.

"I love you, too, Leia."

She grabbed his good arm with both of her hands with such ferocity and strength that he feared she might never let go. At that point, Artoo let out a small whistle, suggesting that he and Threepio withdraw. To be left alone with Leia was the last thing that he wanted, but there was a small part of him that had never wanted anything more. A month ago, to be alone with the beautiful princess in front of such a wondrous view would have been a dream come true. Now, it was too confusing. He was hoping that Threepio's curiosity and impropriety would save him from that.

"Yes, I suppose you are right. Let's see if we can track the progress of the Millenium Falcon. It would be a shame if Master Lando got lost."

After the droids left the viewing gallery, Leia grabbed Luke and kissed him with twice the ferocity of her kiss on Hoth, but this time the passion was real. Before Luke could object, she pulled away and took a distinct, albeit feigned, interest in the view of the galaxy.

"Leia, it's okay. I understand."

Her Force aura swelled up with dark emotions: anger and fear. She was afraid of the way she felt, but her anger was definitely directed at Luke. Then, just as quickly, those emotions dissipated to be replaced by love. Leia was clearly on the verge of tears.

"I'm so confused."

What was her confusion next to what Luke fell right now. Her biggest source of confusion was being in love with two different men. Luke wasn't even sure if he was allowed to ever fall in love again, and surely Leia knew that. Her father, the Prince of Alderaan, was as good of a friend as the Old Jedi Order had in the Senate. Luke could not imagine that Prince Organa would not have educated his daughter and heir about the Jedi's vows of chastity and austerity.

"Say something, Luke, please."

He did not need the Force to sense the desperation and longing in her voice, but what could he say? How could he tell her that Darth Vader, the most evil man in the galaxy, might be his father? How could he explain to her that by cutting his training short, he had now put himself in danger of following down that path? He decided to tell her the truth, or, rather, as much of it as he could bear telling her.

"Leia, I love you in every sense of the word. I love you more than I have ever loved anybody in my whole life. The things I feel about you are things I have never felt before. I've never been happier than when I've been around you, and it breaks my heart to see you like this.

"But, you know the life I have chosen for myself, and the sacrifices I will have to make for it. Han is my best friend, and you are in love with him. We need to focus all of our energies on rescuing him. We will get him back, and the two of you will make each other happier than I could ever make you. I have a very different fate in this galaxy, and you know what that entails."

Leia had no response, and she just broke down in tears. Luke then did something harder than moving stones with his mind and more painful than losing his right hand. He walked away from her because he knew that was what was best for her at that moment.


	2. Chapter 2

Luke tried to sleep, but no sleep would find him. He tried mediation, but he could not calm his mind. Vader was still trying to call out to him. Even, light years outside of the galaxy, he could not escape the call of the creature that might be his father. Ben chose not to appear to him in the Force, nor could Luke commune with him. He did not understand how it worked, whether Ben was ignoring him, or if there was more to communing with the dead than just calling their name out.

His thoughts were centered on Leia, the love he felt for her, even though he knew the desire he felt for her was wrong. Not just because Han was his best friend and Leia's true love, but something else was nagging at him. He suspected that Ben had hidden even more information from him, something about Leia, but Luke could not figure it out.

He sensed Leia's Force presence growing nearer, and he knew he would find neither sleep nor peace this night. Leia entered his nightbay without sounding the chime, but she could no longer hide her presence from him. Luke did not even bother to look up. The overwhelming feelings of sadness and anger instantly filled the room with a darkness that made him afraid. Not afraid because the love of his life was in pain, but afraid because of what it would cost him to provide her with the comfort she so desperately required.

She sat down next to his bed, grabbed his artificial hand, and started stroking the back of the hand. Luke realized that, since he would not comfort her, Leia would do what she knew best. She would play the part of the Princess honoring the wounded war hero, but neither of them was in the mood for any such games. He was about to pull his hand away when she withdrew first.

Leia started hitting him as hard as she could, punching his chest, his arms, any part of his body that her fists could find. He did not feel the physical pain, as her emotional pain was so strong in the Force that it was the only thing he could feel. Luke had never wanted anything more in his whole life than he did right now to hug her, take her in his arms, and never let go, but he could not. There was no physical gesture nor any words of comfort he could offer to her.

Instead, Luke just lay there and endured her anger, hoping it would abate. It was not a healthy way for her to relieve her stress, but she had the luxury of not being in danger of turning to the Dark Side of the Force.

Sure enough, she stopped after a few minutes and changed tactics. Leia leaned over and kissed him again. Just as he did not have the strength to resist her kiss in the medbay or the viewing gallery, he lacked the strength to resist her now. For the first time, though, unlike the four times that she had kissed him before, he returned the kiss with all of his passion for her, all of his anger at the galaxy and his mentors, all of his hatred for Vader.

It was nothing like kissing Camie. This was true love, not some dare that a popular girl had done to the nerdy boy. It was real, but he knew it was wrong. People would only wind up getting hurt. Han would be hurt when they rescued him and he found out what happened. Leia would be hurt when he resumed his Jedi training and cut off all contact with her for months at a time. Luke was already hurting, but he found the strength to pull away.

Feelings of humiliation and doubt washed over the room as Leia stormed out. It was then that Luke knew what he needed to do. He waited until he was sure that Leia was asleep and then changed into his orange pilot's fatigues. He walked down to the starfighter hangar and used the Force to bypass the lock. He then, slowly and sadly, opened the cockpit and jumped in. With terrible remorse, he opened the hangar doors and flew off back towards the galaxy and the life that awaited him.


End file.
